A passing motorist on Organ Church Road called 911 Monday morning after seeing what appeared to be a bloody body pinned under a lawn mower.

But authorities quickly learned that the body was actually a graphic Halloween decoration placed near the road by a neighbor.

It wasnt too long after we dispatched a call that we found out it was a Halloween decoration, said 911 center shift supervisor Autumn Davis.

The attention-grabbing gag, set up in the yard at 3475 Organ Church Road near Rockwell, wasnt surrounded by any other Halloween decorations on Monday. The set-up depicts a body with bloodstained jeans trapped under the blades of a riding lawn mower, with a can of beer in its hand.

Chris Deaton, the man behind the mower, said this is his second year with the decoration, and said he did it because it got great reviews last year.

Its cool for a Halloween ornament, he said.

Deaton said he hadnt been contacted by authorities or passing motorists, but he didnt think the decoration was offending anyone.

He got the idea from someone elses yard, Deaton said, while traveling to the beach one year.

Last year, Deaton kept the mower closer to the house, so only those on his driveway could see it.

This year, though, he wanted to try it closer to the road.

Deaton said he hasnt put any other Halloween decorations around the mower because he figures its going to get stolen and he doesnt want anything else taken.

Thats the only thing its good for, Deaton said about the mower, which no longer has a working motor in it.

Same here...hate it. Especially the obligatory work parties and costume contests. People just get weird and stupid. One year, one of the HR people dressed as a pregnant nun. How is this ok in the new ‘diverse and open’ workplace?

MomToThree is a better conservative than most of those on this site. Too many freepers are just fine w/ censorship, intolerance & govt restrictions on liberty as long as their expressions, displays & religious beliefs aren’t the ones targeted.

I can see why a concerned person called authorities; I imagine it looks somewhat realistic as one is driving by. Not my idea of Halloween decor, and wouldn’t take my kids to that house. But it’s the guy’s choice how he decorates his own yard.

If you are asking if I am in favor of people putting graphic displays in their front yard for all to see, the answer is no. I'm also not in favor of government dictating what a person can display on their own property.

I AM in favor of neighbors banding together to set such an idiot straight.

So how about you?

36
posted on 10/04/2011 7:30:15 AM PDT
by MEGoody
(Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.)

I have seen how a small “restriction” turns into a massive one, RC51! Think about it... years back, work places started restricting smoking inside. Most (including me) were in favor of that. However, it didn’t take THAT long to have smoking restricted from apartments, parks, on school property, hospital property, beaches, parking lots etc... That is just one example of many on how the “frog” was initially put into the pot. I know firsthand how HEATED our civic association meeting became over religious manger scenes. Typical liberal/PC words like, “insensitive, intolerant, separation of Church and state, blah, blah, blah were used. One neighbor actually wanted an “agreement” that only white lights/candles could be used in the windows and NO CHRISTMAS TREE should be visible to the public via a window.

This isn’t the only example that I have witnessed. A nearby Baptist Church displays (once a year) small, white crosses on its lawn to represent the nameless, aborted babies. The PUBLIC OUTRAGE used the same terms: insensitive, intolerant, separation of Church and state etc. My point is even if a display on private property isn’t something WE like or would do, if enough people want a RESTRICTION then whatever you use will be up to scrutiny. The Halloween prop dummy under a lawnmower will quickly turn into all manger scenes, crosses, Christmas trees etc... within a short amount of time. IMHO.

The same so-called Conservatives will howl when Nativities and Menorahs are outlawed but it’s fine for them to advocate banning Halloween displays. I know, I know, Halloween is Satanic and Christmas is quite the opposite. Right. It doesn’t matter.

Who cares if he puts this silly decoration out at any time of year? Although I suspect that if the authorities keep getting called they might have grounds to start charging for false alarms, kind of like if a house alarm keeps going off.

Disclaimer:
Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual
posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its
management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the
exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.